Tag: northwood civic association

Posted on by

Northwood Deed Restriction at Risk

Joe Krause, President of the Northwood Civic Association, revealed at the meeting on May 17th that an application for a variance is pending for the owner of 5114 Castor Avenue to increase the dwelling units from two to three.

burk-deed-restriction

The address is within the deed restricted area and that would prohibit anything other than single family homes.  The owner or his representative will make a presentation at the next Civic meeting on June 21st.

This is the first zoning issue in about 2 years where the Northwood Civic has been recognized at the coordinating RCO (Registered Community Organization).  During that period issues in Northwood were covered by the Frankford NAC at their meetings.  Krause raised the issue and the result is that Northwood now gets a say in what happens in Northwood.

Votes by residents are critical since the deed restriction is widely believed to be important to the quality of life in that area.  Residents are urged to attend.

In other business at the meeting:

Krause noted the ongoing lack of participation in the 15th District PSA1 meeting each month.  Northwood residents are complacent until something happens and then unwilling to take next step to do something about it.  Complaining does not fix the problem.  Go to the meetings.

The conservatorship hearing for 1301 Wakeling is on June 1st.  The owners must have the property fixed and on the market by that date or the non profit will take it over and do the job.  This is a victory for Northwood in either case.

There are now 3 individuals selling cars and a car wash in Northwood on the streets.  Calls to 911 have been ineffective in shutting them down.  They do not belong in a residential area.

3 bikes were stolen from a residence on Castor Avenue across from Northwood Park.  Be on the lookout for kids in the afternoon.

The Castor Avenue traffic project is on schedule and its just a matter of time before we start to see implementation.  Continuing to look to improvements to Ramona and Adams.

There will be a cleanup at Arrott and xxx on May 28th.  Volunteers are welcome.

Joe Hohenstein, representing Frankford Friends Meeting reported on the funds raised for the relief of the fire victims in February.  $1,500  was raised but only $500 was disbursed to 2 families.  They are looking for anyone else who suffered financially from the fire.  Northwood Civic donated $500 of that total.

There is a major 15th District PSA1 meeting on May 26th at the Bridesburg Boys and Girls Club.  This is an opportunity to show the police and City officials that the community wants solutions to our problems rather than promised.  The start time is 7 PM and the address is 2901 Bridge Street.

The next Northwood Civic meeting will be on June 21st at 7 PM at St. James Lutheran Church at Pratt St. and Castor Ave.

 

Posted on by — 1 Comment

Conservatorship in Northwood a Success

Project updates rounded out the meeting of the Northwood Civic Association on April 19th with a about 25 residents attending.

Joe Krause, Civic President, says the Conservatorship hearing for the property at 1301 Wakeling Street was held with many residents attending.  The judge ordered the owner to do the repairs and get the house on the market for sale by June 1st or the conservatorship will go to the nonprofit working on behalf of the Northwood Civic.  They will then rehab the house and put it up for sale as a single family residence.

1301 wakeling St. – photo from Google maps

This project has been so successful that the Civic is considering conservatorship for several other properties in the same situation.

Terry Heiser gave an update on the traffic improvement to Castor Avenue between Foulkrod and Pratt Streets.  The planning is finalized and job is set to begin.  New signage, soft rumble strips, speed limits painted on the roadway all should slow down the traffic and reduce accidents.  Heiser notes that he has had great cooperation from the Streets Department.

Now under study is the intersection of Ramona and Adams Avenue because of vehicle and pedestrian traffic.  Also residents of the 900 block of Foulkrod complain that it is hard to back out of their driveways with the traffic coming down the street too fast.

Rodney Moore from the Streets Department gave an update on trash issues.  Trash should not be put out before 7 PM.  Join Recycling Rewards and get free stuff for recycling.  To join, go to the link or call 888-727-2978.  Bed bugs are still a big concern to the guys picking up trash.  They will pick up mattresses and box springs only if the are wrapped in a plastic bag.  If they are not, they will not be picked up and you could be fined for putting them out for pickup improperly.  Moore noted that 50 new Trash cops have been hired recently.  They will be out enforcing the regulations, so be on guard.

Tom McAvoy, President of the Northwood Town Watch, says truck parking is under control now but requires constant monitoring.  Tom can be reached at nwtownwatch@hotmail.com.

The next meeting of the Northwood Civic will be held on May 17th at 7 PM at St. James Lutheran Church at Pratt Street and Castor Avenue.

Posted on by

The Bridge Scales Back Expansion Plans

ogden

Michael Ogden

The Northwood Civic Association met on March 15th where Michael Ogden, Program Director of The Bridge, talked about the expansion plans and what precipitated the need.  The Villa in Ambler runs a residential facility for children and adolescents who have been court ordered placement outside their natural home.  They are not adjudicated by the court but are victims of circumstances that require their removal.  The Villa is losing its home and those kids will need a place to go and The Bridge would like to provide that service.

The original plan was to build extra space on the property and increase the capacity by almost 100% (from 40 to 78) but when word of community opposition came out, the plan was redone and now they want to use the existing certified capacity of the facility which is 51 residents, to meet the current need.

The operating capacity is currently 40 due to an agreement made with the community when they first asked zoning approval for the facility.

At present The Bridge serves 40 adjudicated boys aged 14 to 18.  The plan calls for a mix of 27 adjudicated and 24 non adjudicated.  The footprint of the building would not change.  Interior renovations would meet the need of the facility.

At some point in the future The Bridge would like to revisit the expansion issue.  Ogden was clear in his answers to residents and the meeting.  Residents seemed satisfied with his responses and overall positive to The Bridge.  Except for the occassional complaint about the trash accumulation on the Adams Avenue area, no one had anything negative to say about the facility.

Other news at the meeting:

If you have voted at St. James Lutheran Church at Castor Avenue and Pratt Street, your polling place will not be String Theory School (Edmunds) at 1197 Haworth Street.

Work on Castor Avenue speed control will begin shortly.  Study is being done on the situation at Adams and Adams and Ramona.

Joe Hohenstein representing Frankford Friends School thanked the Civic for its donation for the people who were forced to relocate due to the fire on Griscom.  He said the funds are still being dispensed.

Work is continuing on the abandoned houses in Northwood.

The next meeting of the Northwood Civic Association will be on April 18th at 7 PM at St. James Lutheran Church.

 

Posted on by

The Bridge at Northwood Civic Tuesday

Northwood Civic Association meeting is Tuesday the 15th. Michael Ogden from The Bridge will be discussing his plans for the expansion of the facility. It is important that we get plenty of feedback from residents.

Please bring a neighbor and spread the word about this important meeting. 7:00PM St. James Church at Castor and Pratt.

The Bridge is a nonprofit behavioral health treatment and youth opportunity program for adolescents and their families seeking to overcome substance abuse, mental health issues, truancy and other challenges. The Bridge includes a comprehensive continuum of services, accredited by the Joint Commission. The Bridges’ services include a residential substance abuse treatment program for 38 adolescent males, the only one in Philadelphia; an outpatient treatment program for people of all ages; a licensed private school; and the E3 Center West in West Philadelphia that helps out-of-school youth and youth returning from juvenile justice placements develop academic, vocational, and life skills. Since 1971, the Bridge has become a leader in the treatment of high-risk youth by helping more than 15,000 adolescents and families in the Philadelphia region.